Only 60% of positions for docs, specialists filled in govt hospitals

The Sun (29/5/08): Only 60% of positions for doctors and specialists in the Health Ministry's hospitals are filled, its minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said.

"We are working towards filling up the vacancies," Liow said in his winding-up for the purpose of a RM200 million allocation under the Supplementary Supply Bill in Parliament today.

Admitting thatvthere is a severe shortage of doctors and specialists in government hospitals, Liow said there were constant opportunities for training and upgrading of skills that were being provided, in addition to looking to speed up promotions of doctors and specialists under the ministry.

"We have 1,860 doctors working out of the 3,628 positions," he said, adding that the ministry was also working on efforts to prevent specialists and doctors from migrating to the private sector.

To a question by Datuk Dr Marcus Mojigoh (BN-Putatan) for migration figures, Liow said he did not have the detailed figures but disclosed that in 2007, the ministry had 1,867 specialists compared with 1,680 this year.

"These numbers comntinue to fall despite yearly replacements. The more we train, the more will leave," he added.

However, in response to a different question raised earlier, Liow said general practitioners in the private sector were also welcomed to help government hospitals in extended hours of services.

"We encourage doctors to come to the hospital and we give them an allowance of RM80 an hour," he said, also admitting to a shortage of nurses.

Liow said health services amounted to 4% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and that escalating costs were a burden.

"The government has been giving 98% subsidies for treatment costs and only 2% pay for the treatment under the full-paying patient scheme in which patients who can afford to pay for treatment pays for the service.

"We will be studying the full-paying patient scheme in August but the costs are rising daily and government’s subsidies are also bloating," he said, adding that the ministry received RM10 billion in subsidies in 2007 and RM12.9 billion last year.

Liow also reassured Khalid Abd Samad (PAS-Shah Alam) that the ministry will build a hospital in Shah Alam city under the 9th Malaysia Plan.

MMA wants explanation over 'licensed to kill' remark

The Star (27/5/08): The Malaysian Medical Association is demanding a full clarification over deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad’s statement that doctors were “licensed to kill”.

“We are not sure in what circumstances this word “to kill” was used and as such, a full clarification would be helpful,” said its president Datuk Dr Khoo Kah Lin in a statement Tuesday.

He said the association wanted to “impress” upon the public that doctors were only "licensed to heal and support patients in helping them to alleviate sufferings due to illnesses".

“Any negligent cause of death during treatment is answerable. This is to reassure the public that neither the Malaysian Medical Council nor the MMA condones the notion that doctors are licensed to kill at any point in time,” he added.

It was reported that Dr Abdul Latiff had in Dewan Rakyat on Monday referred to the famous James Bond movie titled “Licence to Kill” when replying to a supplementary question by Alexander Nanta Linggi (BN — Kapit) during Question Time.

Dr Abdul Latiff had said doctors were given the “licence to heal” as well as the “licence to kill”. He later retracted his statement but said he would not apologise.

Dr Khoo said the association was shocked to read about the remark uttered by Dr Latiff. He said it was unfortunate that deputy minister had “blurted out such a remark.”

When asked by reporters about the matter, Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said he had the highest regard for doctors.

He said medicine was an ethical profession in which doctors “had the heart” to save lives.

“The ministry has always ensured that negligence is minimal,” he said after witnessing the signing of a memorandum of co-operation between Kojadi Institute, Ikram Skills and Retraining Academy and ABS Consulting.

Bumbling minister riles them

Malay Mail (27/5/08): Questions must be asked about the competence of Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Latiff Ahmad ( BN-Mersing) during Question Time, even if he has had to face up alone and unaided to an increasingly hostile Opposition in the absence of his Minister.

Last week the diminutive bumbler was charged with being unprofessional for failing utterly to provide an adequate response to the shortage of medical specialists in the country.

Yesterday, with what can only be described as reckless ineptitude, he managed single-handedly to offend the entire medical profession in half a sentence.

Replying to a question from Dr Mohd Hayati Osman (Pas -Pendang) , Latiff observed that doctors had a “licence to heal, and a licence to kill”. Members immediately pounced on the utterly unnecessary pronouncement, sensing that it served no purpose other than to drag Latiff further into disrepute.

Dr Mohd Hatta Ramli (Pas-Kuala Krai) and Dr Lo’ Lo’ Mohd Ghazali (Pas- Titiwangsa), both medical doctors, rose to demand a retraction, but Latiff refused, thinking perhaps that he needed to demonstrate the strength of his convictions to his colleagues.

These convictions swiftly turned to the dumb refusal of a rabbit mesmerised by the headlights of an oncoming lorry, and the Opposition made a big deal of running the honourable gentleman over. In the sudden eruption of points of order, Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia provided Latiff an exit: Promise not to repeat it, and be done.

Latiff, however, was at the moment inspired by a distant Muse unknown to the rest of us, and chose to prevaricate. “I intended no malice,” he said, to a wave of boos and reminders of the Hippocratic Oath.

Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) then raised his rule book for the coup de grâce: Retract the remark, or be sent down for 10 days, or, alternatively, face the wrath of the Committee of Privileges.

Still the Deputy Minister tried with increasing desperation to wriggle out of the unexpected trap of his own making. At length, the verbose Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad (Pas-Kuala Selangor) obtained the floor and nearly upset his bench’s momentum with a rambling account about his teaching days in the field of pharmacology.

Pandikar Amin, realising from bitter experience that Dzulkifli’s point lay somewhere in the distant and unforeseeable future, cut the matter short by forcing Latiff’s retraction.

Finally the Deputy Minister relented, by which time the House had spent 30 minutes debating this urgent matter of obvious national importance.

Later in the day, the House debated a procedural Bill from the Finance Ministry that sought, amongst others, to place the Uni t y and National Integration Department (in the Prime Minister’s Department ) within the Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry.

This prompted a long series of speeches from both sides about both unity and heritage, and two government backbenchers (Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi, BN-Batu Pahat, and Hamim Samuri, BN-Ledang) rose to condemn Malaysia’s performance in its dispute with Singapore over Pulau Batu Putih as an outright loss and a demonstration of our failure to protect our heritage.

Luckily for Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim (BN-Jelebu), he was absent during the debate and entered the House just as the matter was being put to vote.

(Proceeding s in the House, incidentally, are broadcast on televisions in the Lobby.) Also in the same debate, Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (BN-Pasir Salak) raised eyebrows on both sides with an impassioned speech about national unity.

The fiery nationalist defended the idea that Malaysians of all races are, as a rule, much closer to each other than politicians are prepared to say.

“We all have friends of other races,” he said, annoyed that he had to state the patently obvious.

“Even in my place, my children have Chinese friends and they sleep over all the time. Is there a problem? No. It’s only politicians who make an issue of it.” The House was stunned, and Tajuddin gracefully resumed his seat. (U-En Ng)

Latiff says 'docs have licence to kill'

The Sun (26/5/08): "Licence to kill" was a subject that dominated 20 minutes of argument but it was not about Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond that the MPs were at loggerheads with.

It was the sentence "doctors have the licence to heal and licence to kill" in a supplementary answer in Parliament today by the Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Abd Latiff Ahmad (BN-Mersing) that sparked a furore amongst the doctors amid the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) representatives.

Dr Mohd Hatta Mat Ramli (PAS-Kuala Krai) was the first to start the ball rolling asking Abd Latiff to withdraw his statement as it sets a wrong impression on medical doctors.

Dr Lo’ Lo’ Mohamad Ghazali (PAS-Titiwangsa) was next to voice her dissatisfaction on the statement also citing concern that there would be misunderstanding amongst the students who visit the House frequently.

Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia first waved it off and asked for proceedings to continue but this did not go down well with Opposition parliamentarians, with Mohd Hatta standing up to ask Pandikar Amin to order Abd Latiff to withdraw the statement.

And this was also called for by a few other MPs like Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) who cited Point of Order that the statement had not complied with the Standing Orders of the House.

Opposition Leader Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR-Permatang Pauh) also stood up to notify that doctors took an oath to protect the lives of their patients and Abd Latiff’s statement was inappropriate.

Dr Tan Seng Giaw (DAP-Kepong) also said he hoped Pandikar Amin would rule that such words would no longer be used and for Abd Latiff to withdraw the phrase.

Pandikar Amin agreed with Tan and looked for affirmation from Abd Latiff in saying that he did not have bad intentions when he uttered the phrase.

"Yes, I had not meant it in a bad way," Abd Latiff said.

After much ruckus, Pandikar Amin asked for the parliamentarians to refrain from using terms or phrases that may insult their peers and can be defined through other perceptions. Further, he asked Abd Latiff to withdraw the statement.

Abd Latiff said: "I am sorry to have said that and I had no mean intentions. I will not repeat it but I will not withdraw my statement."

This caused another loud roar from the side of PR but Pandikar Amin then ticked off the MPs, reminding them of their shared responsibility in ensuring smooth proceedings that adhere to the Standing Orders.

He said he had taken note that this was not the first time Abd Latiff had used the phrase but was also sure that he had no bad intentions in saying it.

"From what I gather, what he meant was sometimes there are doctors who are careless and that was what he meant," he said.

The Rules in the Standing Orders were thrown across the House, asking for Pandikar Amin’s actions and when he had seemed to have had enough, he quipped: "I have memorised all these rules – up, down, left and right."

Pandikar Amin refreshed the memory of the MPs that he had first decided to ignore the phrase and carry on with proceedings and the decision could only be reviewed with a motion under Standing Order 43.

"You all have this responsibility of ensuring that the meeting goes smoothly. Next time, don’t use that term," he said.

At this point, Lim stood to refer to a Standing Order allowing parliamentarians to refer the act of a fellow-MP to a Special Committee.

After some resistance, Abd Latiff put an end to the issue when he said: "I will not apologise for the remark but I will withdraw it."

Opposition up in arms over 'licence to kill' remark

NST (27/5/08): Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff left some members in the House, including doctors, huffing and puffing when he declared doctors have a "licence to heal and licence to kill".

His statement, made in the course of replying to a supplementary question, saw House proceedings come to a halt for about 20 minutes as opposition MPs repeatedly demanded that Dr Abdul Latiff withdraw his remark.

Dr Abdul Latiff, who was answering a supplementary question from Dr Mohd Hayati Othman (Pas-Pendang), had replied that medical graduates were lacking in certain skills and clinical expertise when dealing with patients.

He said this was the reason the government had decided to increase the housemanship period for trainee doctors from 12 months to two years.

"The doctors have licence to heal and licence to kill so we (ministry) have to ensure that our doctors are well trained so that we can safely receive treatment from them," he said.

Immediately, Dr Mohd Hatta Ramli (Pas-Kuala Krai) objected and asked Dr Abdul Latiff to retract his statement.

Several other opposition members also questioned Dr Abdul Latiff's intention.

Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia ordered all to be seated and told the House that Dr Abdul Latiff's statement should not be misinterpreted.

Lim Guan Eng (DAP-Bagan) said "licence to kill" had a different meaning altogether and doctors cannot be James Bond.

Dr Tan Seng Giaw (DAP-Kepong), a skin specialist, said he did not want such words used about doctors in the House.

Pandikar Amin advised Dr Abdul Latiff not to make such statements and retract it if possible.

Dr Abdul Latiff stood firm with his decision not to retract, saying he had no intention to humiliate the medical profession.

"I meant licence to kill in the event of a doctor being negligent or careless in his duties."

This angered several MPs who raised several points of order including one that could refer Dr Abdul Latif to the Special Privileges Committee if more than 15 MPs find him to have committed an offence.

"Negligence is not an acceptable act. This does not give a doctor the licence to kill, especially when they have taken the Hippocratic oath that they will value every life they treat," said Opposition leader Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR-Permatang Pauh), who is an eye specialist.

After a second call by Pandikar Amin to retract his statement, Dr Abdul Latiff said: "I do not wish to apologise but I retract my statement."

Dr Abdul Latiff was originally replying to Alexander Nanta Linggi (BN-Kapit) who had asked him the reason Sarawak faced a shortage of doctors and medical officers in all its hospitals.

His ministry, he said, has taken several measures to ensure automatic appointment of retired medical officers on a temporary basis.

Licence to kill retracted

The Star (27/5/08): Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad became the target of several Opposition MPs when he let slip that doctors were “licensed to kill.”

The 15-minute attack on him led to Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia warning all MPs not to use unparliamentary words in future.

Speaker to speaker: Penang state assembly speaker Abdul Halim Hussain (second from left) paying a courtesy call on Pandikar Amin (second from right) at the Parliament House. He was accompanied by Guan Eng (centre), Deputy Chief Minister I Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin, Deputy Chief Minister II Prof Dr P. Ramasamy (left), Datuk Zahrain Hashim and other MPs from Penang.

“You have set a precedent and the next time if any of you start using an unparliamentary word, I will not hesitate to exercise my power,” he said.

Dr Abdul Latiff had wanted to adopt the famous James Bond movie title “Licence to Kill” when replying to a supplementary question by Alexander Nanta Linggi (BN – Kapit) during Question Time.

He said doctors were given the “licence to heal” as well as the “licence to kill.”

This prompted several Opposition MPs, led by Dr Mohd Hatta Ramli (PAS – Kuala Krai), to stand up and demand that he retract his phrase as it damaged the reputation of the profession.

Pandikar Amin however felt that it was only a small matter and it should not be blown out of proportion, as it was a waste of time to argue about a trivial matter.

Dr Abdul Latiff finally stood up to defend himself and explained that the phrase was only a figure of speech.

“But if the Yang Berhormat feels that he (Dr Mohd Hatta) has the licence to kill, that’s his assumption,” he said, causing a fiery uproar from the Opposition again.

“Retract your words or show us your licence,” demanded N. Gobalakrishnan (PKR – Padang Serai).

“How can he (Dr Abdul Latiff) be appointed as the deputy health minister if he has the licence to kill?” interjected Mahfuz Omar (PAS - Pokok Sena).

Dr Tan Seng Giaw (DAP – Kepong) also stood up and said he hoped Dr Abdul Latiff would not use such words again but the best would be for him to retract the words.

Pandikar Amin followed Tan’s suggestion even with outbursts from Lim Kit Siang (DAP – Ipoh Timur) and his son Guan Eng (DAP – Bagan).

“We are here not as James Bond, only James Bond has the licence to kill,” said Guan Eng.

Opposition Leader Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR – Permatang Pauh) also demanded a retraction saying that doctors were meant to save lives and not kill anyone.

Pandikar Amin then ordered Dr Abdul Latiff to retract his words but when he refused, Pandikar Amin said: “Please help me so I can do my duty. Just say the two words - tarik balik (retract),” he said.

At this juncture, several MPs stood up for points of order that the Speaker’s decision must not be ignored, to which Pandikar Amin said: ”Don’t tell me how to do my job.

“I know the Standing Orders very well and I’ve memorised it from top to bottom and left to right,” he said.

Dr Abdul Latiff finally retracted his words but said he would not apologise.

Abdul Latiff: Docs have licence to kill

Malaysiakini (26/5/08): As a result, he said, the ministry is unable to approve their employment, adding: “As you all know, doctors have a licence to kill and a licence to cure.”

On hearing this, Dr Hatta Ramli (PAS-Kuala Krai) demanded a retraction of the statement as “it could send a negative signal to the public”.

“I am a doctor myself and I demand that (you) retract your statement. It is not wise to say that doctors have a licence to kill. What kind of message are you sending the public?” he asked.

Dr Lo’ Lo Mohd Ghazali (PAS-Titiwangsa), another medical doctor, also criticised Abdul Latiff. Several of her Pakatan Rakyat colleagues then added to the barrage of calls for retraction. (Full report)

'Licence to kill' heats up Parliament

Bernama (26/5/08): The use of the phrase, 'licence to kill' by Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad created an uproar in the Dewan Rakyat with opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) calling for its withdrawal as it reflected poorly on doctors.

Dr Mohd Hatta Md Ramli (PAS-Kuala Krai) set the tone when he said the phrase implied that doctors had a "licence to kill" followed by Dr Lo' Lo' Mohamad Ghazali (Pas-Titiwangsa). They wanted the phrase withdrawn.

Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia then intervened and asked Abdul Latif to explain what he meant.

Abdul Latiff said "licence to kill" did not imply that doctors had the licence to kill but to show what the failure or negligence of certain doctors could do.

"The opposition always has a negative attitude. If they think they (doctors) have the licence to kill, let it be," he said.

Earlier, replying to a question from Alexander Nanta Linggi (BN-Kapit), Abdul Latiff used the phrases "licence to kill" and "licence to heal" when describing the poor service due to lack of doctors at hospitals and rural clinics in Sarawak.

The opposition MPs were not satisfied with the explanation and wanted him to withdraw the phrase, "licence to kill".

Abdul Latiff then stood up and said he had no bad intention and promised not to repeat it.

Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) and N. Gobalakrishnan (PKR-Padang Serai) then joined the fray and said the use of the phrase was unsuitable to describe negligence by doctors.

This forced the Speaker to ask Abdul Latiff to withdraw the phrase which the latter agreed but he refused to apologise for using it.

Deputy Health Minister gets flak for Bond remark

The Star (26/5/08): Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad became the target of several Opposition MPs on Monday when he let slip that doctors were "licensed to kill".

Abdul Latiff had wanted to use the famous James Bond movie title Licensed to Kill when replying to a question during Question Time.

He said doctors were given the "license to heal" as well as the "licence to kill." Lim Guan Eng (DAP-Bagan) replied that only Bond has the license to kill but not doctors.

Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia said Dr Abdul Latiff did not intend to hurt anyone when he made the remark.

He however ordered him to retract the words upon request by other MPs.

Dr Abdul Latiff defended himself by saying that it was a figure of speech. He however retracted his words but would not apologise.

Latiff slammed by opposition over ‘unprofessional’ answer

The Star (13/5/08): Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad was told off by an Opposition member during the question and answer session.

Dr Latiff had just told Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing (BN-Bintulu) that the shortage of specialists in the country was not faced by Malaysia alone and that this was a long-standing problem when Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud (PAS-Kota Raja) stood up to criticise him.

“That is the most unprofessional answer from the ministry. This is an urgent matter,” she said.

Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia said Dr Latiff had the discretion over his answers and that “this was his reply although it may not be satisfactory to Yang Berhormat”.

Earlier, Dr Latiff had told Salleh Kalbi (BN-Silam) that there were only four specialists at the Lahad Datu district hospital – two of whom were from India and the others from Egypt.

“On the problem of the lack of specialists, even those who are originally from Sabah do not want to go back to the state to serve. Perhaps they have drunk the water from Klang Valley and they prefer to stay here,” he said.

During the debate, shouts erupted between several Barisan Nasional backbenchers and opposition MPs over a remark on religious belief.

Hamim Samuri (BN-Ledang) was debating the motion of thanks on the royal address when he said that Barisan’s development programmes for the country was based on reality and not concocted by fantasy.

“Only those who lack faith will deny the successes brought about by Barisan,” he added.

Several opposition MPs shouted at Hamim, saying that he was being insensitive and irresponsible, while several Barisan MPs shouted back at them.

N. Gobalakrishnan (PKR-Padang Serai), Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena), Roslan Shaharum (PKR-Bukit Gantang) asked Deputy Speaker Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar to order Hamim to retract his statement.

Wan Junaidi finally ruled that Hamim was not directing his statement at anyone and told him to base his speech on facts next time.

Fuziah Salleh (PKR-Kuantan) questioned why there were many policemen to watch over a peaceful event when the country did not have enough officers to tackle crime.

She asked why seven policemen monitored an event organised for the disabled, the poor and single women in Kuantan recently.

“Serious crimes are occurring and there are not enough policemen to go around. But there seems to be enough for them to watch over a peaceful event,” she said.

“Maybe a PKR Member of Parliament is considered more dangerous than threats to public security and safety.”